Demand for Maltese manufactured products was badly hit by the global recession last year, according to figures published by the EU's statistics office.

Eurostat said Malta suffered one of the biggest drops in exports compared to the other 26 member states. However, exports in the EU dropped across the board, with all member states suffering a decline when compared to the previous year.

During 2009, Malta exported almost €0.5 billion less than it did in 2008, a drop of 25 per cent. This put the island in the third worst position in the EU.

The only member states which suffered an even bigger drop were Finland (-32 per cent) and Lithuania (-27 per cent), with Sweden seeing a decline similar to Malta's in size.

Sources close to Eurostat told The Times that Malta's slump was mainly caused by a slowdown in global demand for high-tech products such as microchips, which are produced by ST Microelectronics.

"The same happened in Finland and Sweden, which also rely heavily on hi-tech exports."

On the importation side, Malta also registered a significant drop of 20 per cent during 2009, primarily as a direct consequence of a difficult year in exports, as much of the imports are destined for Maltese factories.

Last year, Malta imported €2.6 billion worth of products against €3.3 billion in 2008.

However, other EU member states registered a sharper drop, with Lithuania (-38 per cent), Latvia (-37 per cent) and Bulgaria (-33 per cent) topping the list.

As a direct result of the global recession, the EU's biggest economies all experienced significant hits to their economic activity.

Germany, Europe's economic engine, saw exports drop by 18 per cent and it imported 17 per cent less than in 2008. The same happened in France (-16 per cent in exports) and the UK (-19 per cent).